Fantasy Football: The Things I Learned – Week 15, 2015

By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.

Below, check out my fantasy-centered recaps of key players from this week’s contests. For instance, did a player come back to earth after an aberrant breakout, or were they simply affected by something like game flow?

Panthers 38, Giants 35
This game was insane, which means lots and lots of fantasy points to go around. Of course, the biggest fantasy game from Old Man Newton, who threw for five touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards, which is an NFL record, but more importantly, just won a whole bunch of fantasy teams a playoff game.

Ted Ginn Jr. was once again Newton’s most productive fantasy wide receiver, with six receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The days of Ginn being boom or bust died four games ago in Dallas when he had zero receptions. Since then he’s had two touchdowns in each of his last three games. Ginn owes Newton a whole bunch of daps and some cash, and maybe he should name one of his children after him.

Greg Olsen caught 6-of-8 targets for 79 yards and a touchdown with no ill effects from his knee injury. He’s been solid all season, and with Newton at the helm, will remain so as long as they’re playing football.

If you had to start Eli Manning against the high-powered Panther’s defense, you are extremely happy with the outcome. Even though he tied the game up in the end, Manning’s push for fantasy stats came when it appeared the game was over, with the Giants losing 35-7 in the third quarter. He ended up completing 29-of-46 passes for 245 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He’s now thrown four touchdowns in back-to-back games. Expect, well, anything next week in Minnesota.

It is impossible to not write about Odell Beckham Jr., who caught 6-of-9 targets for 76 yards and a touchdown, but looked like a braying jackass all game. He’s extremely lucky he wasn’t ejected for coming back on an interception and trying to spear Josh Norman out of the game so he wouldn’t have to face him anymore. I’m sure all Beckham will get are fines – and a lot of them – for his three personal fouls and other things the league finds on the tape, but I doubt they suspend him. He should be fine to play in your championship game next week.

Patriots 33, Titans 16
The Patriots never had any worries about losing this game, so the fantasy numbers were on the low side. Tom Brady completed 23-of-35 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns, which would have most likely been much higher if this game were competitive.

Brandon Bolden led the team in carries last week after LeGarrette Blount went down for the season, but of course, it was Joey Iosefa as the early-down back, rushing 14 times for 51 yards. Belitricks.

James White caught 7-of-8 targets for 71 yards and a touchdown, and was second on the team in targets to Rob Gronkowski, because Danny Amendola left early with an injury. White has been dynamic with the ball, but it remains tough to know when he’ll get touches. Next week against the Jets feels like a good White receiving game though.

Marcus Mariota sprained his MCL, and even though he says he’ll play again this season, I’d wager this is the last we see of Mariota for the Titans, who are out of the playoffs.

Dorial Green-Beckham caught 6-of-9 targets for 113 yards and is finishing strongly enough to give us plenty of hope for him and Mariota going into next season.

Chiefs 34, Ravens 14
The Chiefs scored twice on defense, giving them six defensive touchdowns on the season, but for Alex Smith backers, those defensive touchdowns made it easy for Andy Reid to play ultra conservatively on offense. Alex Smith completed 21-of-25 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown as he managed your fantasy team to a loss.

Jeremy Maclin caught 7-of-10 targets for 50 yards and a touchdown, which is pretty amazing considering the lack of total offense for Kansas City. Maclin now has 40 percent of the target share over the last four weeks.

Spencer Ware was active, but didn’t get a snap in this game. Charcandrick West started off great, with a 38-yard touchdown run and ended the day with 18 touches for 85 yards and that touchdown. He gets a much easier run defense next week against the Browns. If Ware doesn’t practice much again this week, West should see plenty of work in that matchup.

Jimmy Clausen completed 26-of-45 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, including a pick-six, to carry on the Matt Schaub tradition. Clausen actually didn’t look horrible against a tough Kansas City defense, and there’s a decent possibility he’ll get the start of a healthy Matt Schaub.

The one good thing to come out of all these Ravens injuries, is the play of Kamar Aiken. He brought in 8-of-12 targets for 128 yards and a touchdown, and looked good doing so.

Falcons 23, Jaguars 17
Matt Ryan completed 22-of-35 passes for 246 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and helped his team to a win – their first in ages. Of course in fantasy, this game was not good enough, and it came against a very weak Jacksonville pass defense.

Julio Jones found the end zone for the first time since Week 8, while Devonta Freeman got his first rushing touchdown since Week 6. Those are two too-long droughts for two of the top fantasy players for 2015. Unfortunately, for the fantasy championship, these two face the Panthers.

Blake Bortles had 10 multi-touchdown pass games through his first thirteen games, but could only put up one this week, as he completed 23-of-38 passes for 297 yards, that touchdown and an interception. The bright spot of his game this week though, was his 44 yards rushing and a touchdown. That’s back-to-back games with a rushing touchdown, his first two of the season. If he can add a bit more on the ground, his upside would skyrocket.

Bortles’ one touchdown pass went to Allen Robinson of course. Robinson now has 13 touchdowns on the year and six in his last four games. His breakout season has been real and spectacular.

Vikings 38, Bears 17
Teddy Bridgewater completed 17-of-20 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns, adding another touchdown on the ground, for a total of five and the best fantasy game of his career. He made some gorgeous passes and looked like the player many of us were hoping for all season. Unfortunately, Bridgewater had accounted for nine passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the first 13 games. He had totaled four touchdown passes over his last seven games, and he throws four in this game, against a team that had allowed seven passing touchdowns in their last seven games. I give up.

Stefon Diggs caught 3-of-4 targets for 55 yards and two touchdowns after falling off the fantasy map over the last five weeks. Diggs is a legitimate talent, who could shine if Bridgewater heats up.

Adrian Peterson sprained his ankle, but was able to return to the game, even though he was ineffective. He should be able to go against the Giants next week, but if he can’t, we’ll see Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata split work. McKinnon was the better of the two this week, as he caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Jay Cutler was sacked five times, lost a fumble and was intercepted to go along with his 26-of-37 completions for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Cutler has regressed, and I doubt he’ll perk up, even with a good matchup in Tampa Bay next week.

Alshon Jeffery caught a touchdown, but also had to leave due to a tight hamstring. He’s one of the best receivers in the league, but won’t be able to prove it until he can stay on the field consistently.

Texans 16, Colts 10
T.J. Yates left this game with a season-ending ACL tear. Yates was in for Brain Hoyer, who has had two concussions in a relatively short time period, so in came Brandon Weeden to save the day! Weeden did throw a touchdown to Jaelen Strong and had his moments as he completed 11-of-18 passes for 105 yards and that Strong touchdown. There’s a decent chance he’ll get the start next week against Tennessee. DeAndre Hopkins caught 8-of-11 targets for 94 yards. It’s not the fantasy game we were hoping for, but it’s better than nothing, especially in PPR leagues. Weeden was not afraid to go Nuk’s way, so I wouldn’t downgrade him next week if the old man gets the start.

Alfred Blue rushed 20 times for 107 yards, but also lost a fumble. He looked good for much of the day though, and this is coming off last week’s game in which he didn’t get a touch. Bill O’Brien is the ultimate Bellitricks disciple.

The Colts had a nice run there with Matt Hasselbeck, but he’s now led his team to three straight losses and managed to kill what fantasy value there was for his teammates. He completed 17-of-30 passes for 147 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and had to leave the game for a brief period. He’s not healthy, and the Colts very much need Andrew luck back for next week.

Redskins 35, Bills 25
Kirk Cousins is proving a lot of people wrong right now, including myself. I still don’t think he’s a top quarterback in this league for the long haul, but with the right supporting cast, he can continue to do good things. This week, he took the Buffalo Bills to the woodshed, completing 22-of-28 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for another score.

Jordan Reed continued his great play as he caught 7-of-7 targets for 84 yards and two touchdowns, his eight and ninth of the season. He gets a nice matchup against Philadelphia next week.

DeSean Jackson’s usual boom-or-bust status has become mostly “boom” with Kirk Cousins’ hot play of late. Jackson has four touchdowns in his last five games and had his best game of the season against the Bills on Sunday, catching 6-of-8 targets for 153 yards and one touchdown.

The Bills were squarely beaten, but once again the Tyrod Taylor-to-Sammy Watkins connection held firm, as Taylor completed 16-of-27 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and added 79 rushing yards, to keep his fantasy floor high above water, and Watkins caught 5-of-10 targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Watkins now has six touchdowns in his last four games.

LeSean McCoy sprained his MCL, and Mike Gillislee and Karlos Williams split time behind McCoy. There’s no reason for the Bills to push McCoy as they are out of the hunt.

Seahawks 30, Browns 13
Russell Wilson completed 21-of-30 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns, and tacked on 46 yards rushing, for yet another huge fantasy day. He now had three touchdown passes or more and no interceptions in each of his last five games, which is a NFL record. The guy is unstoppable right now.

Wilson’s insane run has helped give Doug Baldwin an equally crazy stretch of games. Against the Browns, Baldwin caught two more touchdowns and now has 10 over his last four games. This stretch for the two of them has come against the 49ers, Steelers, Vikings, Ravens and Browns, so the defenses the Seahawks were facing weren’t, how do you say, good, but you don’t see anyone else stomping easy competition quite this thoroughly either. Seattle’ll face the Rams and Cardinals to finish the season.

The running back situation was a killer for most fantasy players, as Christine Michael came out on top, with 16 carries for 84 yards, while Bryce Brown had nine carries for 43 yards and neither found the end zone. If Lynch doesn’t return soon, Michael looks like the back to own.

Johnny Manziel in no way made a fool out of himself in Seattle, which could have happened to any rookie quarterback. He wasn’t great by any means, but each week, he shows me something that makes me believe he has a future in the NFL.

Packers 30, Raiders 20
Aaron Rodgers has lost something besides Jordy Nelson this season, but it’s hard to pinpoint what it is. It could just be the inconsistency from his receivers causing him to second-guess himself, but he’s not playing as well as he has in the past. Rodgers completed 22-of-39 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Raiders on Sunday. A quick lead due to Derek Carr throwing two quick interceptions for a pick-six and John Kuhn fantasy-killing touchdown run, hurt Rodgers’ overall stats, but he made plenty of poor decisions.

Eddie Lacy got the start, but couldn’t make any headway, rushing 11 times for just 23 yards. Right now, Lacy isn’t able to run with the reckless abandon of the last couple years and is unable to make holes for himself. James Starks had a better rushing day, but also lost a fumble. These two are tough to figure out and go to Arizona next week for a tough matchup.

Derek Carr completed 23-of-47 passes for 276 yards, two touchdowns and two costly interceptions. He added 42 yards rushing, which helped push his fantasy day into respectability.

Both of Carr’s touchdowns went to Amari Cooper, who got off the schneid, catching 6-of-9 targets for 120 yards and those two touchdowns. Cooper took advantage of Sam Shields’ absence in this one, and once again, showed why he was a first-round pick. Cooper hadn’t gotten into the end zone since Week 9.

Bengals 24, 49ers 14
This game was a nice Ambien substitute, as the Bengals won, but had only 14 first downs and 242 total yards, while the 49ers competed for offensive futility. The Bengals were without Andy Dalton, Tyler Eifert and A.J. Green for much of the game, so a win on the road was more than sufficient for them.

The only fantasy play, besides Cincinnati’s defense, was Jeremy Hill, who couldn’t get anything going on the ground, but managed two short touchdown runs. Hill has now scored touchdowns in five different games, but has a total of 10 since he’s scored two or more touchdowns in four separate matchups.

Blaine Gabbert took four sacks in this game, giving him 17 over the last three games. He also threw four interceptions and has reverted to the Gabbert we knew and loved for his inability to handle any kind of pressure.

Shaun Draughn was forced from this game with a knee injury, and a backfield of Travaris Cadet, Kendall Gaskins and Bruce Miller all saw the ball after he left. Stay far away.

Steelers 34, Broncos 27
Ben Roethlisberger has put up over 800 total yards on the Seahawks and Broncos of late, which shows you just how potent this offense is. Against Denver, he completed 40-of-55 passes for 380 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions as he led his team back from a 17-point halftime deficit.

Antonio Brown was the catalyst for that comeback though, as he caught an amazing 16-of-18 targets for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He routinely schooled one of the best corners in the league, Chris Harris. Roethlisberger and Brown get to reprise their roles as fantasy studs against the Ravens’ poor secondary next week.

Just to reiterate how dominant Brown has been, In 10 games with Roethlisberger (including partial games), Brown’s line has been 99/1,351/9. That would extrapolate to 158 receptions for 2,161 yards and 14 touchdowns in 16 games. Unreal.

Brock Osweiler had a big game, but it all came in the first half. He hasn’t led his team to any points in the second half of their last three games.

Emmanuel Sanders got a little revenge on his old team as he caught 10-of-16 targets for 181 yards and a touchdown. He routinely found holes in Pittsburgh’s secondary, and Osweiler hit him over and over again in the first half. Demaryius Thomas caught two touchdowns in that big first half, but Sanders was clearly the better receiver in this game. I would not be ashamed to go after him in dynasty leagues.

Chargers 30, Dolphins 14
The San Diego Super Chargers whooped up on the lifeless Dolphins, in what might have been the home team’s last game in San Diego. It was a bittersweet victory for the Chargers, but they backed up their talk of wanting to win one for the city, as Philip Rivers completed 26-of-36 passes for 311 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. All three of Rivers’ passing touchdowns went to lil’ Danny Woodhead, who added a fourth on the ground. Four touchdowns on 14 touches isn’t too shabby. He got a slight bump from Melvin Gordon leaving the game with a knee injury, but this was all due to a demoralized Dolphins team, a motivated Chargers team and Philip Rivers hitting on all cylinders.

Ryan Tannehill got a garbage-time rushing touchdown, but threw for no touchdowns. His play, like the rest of the team, was uninspired.

Lamar Miller injured his quad and lost time to Jay Ajayi, who scored the first touchdown of his career. Miller is not 100 percent, with what appears to be ankle and quad injuries. He’s done in Miami. Ajayi will most likely be the lead back next year, while Miller goes to a team that will hopefully use him better.

Cardinals 40, Eagles 17
In a game where Carson Palmer started off with a “should have been 70-plus-yard touchdown” perfect strike to John Brown, which he dropped, it quickly turned against Palmer’s fantasy hopes, because it was all David Johnson after that.

Johnson rushed 29 times for 187 yards with three touchdowns and had four catches for 42 yards. He was spectacular all game, even after tweaking his knee. His 47-yard touchdown run could easily stand up as the best touchdown run of the season. Johnson’ll be a top play again next week at home against Green Bay.

Sam Bradford completed 28-of-41 passes for 361 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, plus lost a fumble. He once again made some great plays, but cut them down with more horrendous plays. Bradford has the ability, but his decision-making still is off.

Coming off four straight games of four or fewer receptions, Jordan Matthews burst out, catching 8-of-11 targets for 159 yards and a touchdown. This is the Matthews we were hoping for on a more consistent basis, but this Eagles team has been nothing close to consistent.

Zach Ertz also had a game fantasy pundits continue to wait on, as he caught 8-of-13 targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. Much like this Eagles team, there is plenty of talent there, but putting it together with any kind of consistency has been like pulling teeth.

For more thoughts, check out Walt’s updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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